New owners to update iconic Friendly Toast

PORTSMOUTH — A downtown landmark for 19 years, the Friendly Toast restaurant was sold Monday — mismatched place settings, dinette sets, and all.

Elizabeth Dinan

PORTSMOUTH — A downtown landmark for 19 years, the Friendly Toast restaurant was sold Monday — mismatched place settings, dinette sets, and all.

New owners Eric Goodwin and Scott Pulver purchased the Portsmouth and Cambridge, Mass., Friendly Toast restaurants and Goodwin was in Portsmouth on Tuesday, when he said the first order of business is to “get to know our team.” He said he and his business partner have longer-term plans for “culinary-driven” updates, as well as for opening new restaurants in other locations under the Friendly Toast name.

Nothing will change immediately but, Goodwin said, within a few months there will be menu updates and “people will notice differences.”

“We like the eclectic sort of vibe,” Goodwin said about the Friendly Toast’s flea market decor curated by former owner Melissa Jasper. “But I think we’ll look at it from a design standpoint and update the facility.”

He said he and Pulver know “Friendly Toast is a unique and iconic name” and that “it’s important to have a strong local reputation.”

“That will extend out to the tourists,” he said. “Portsmouth is a great restaurant town with high operating standards and our goal is to operate at, or above those standards.”

Goodwin said he and Pulver will have “a very active role” with both restaurants and have hired independent and corporate restaurant veteran Marcus Thompson as director of operations. He said they’ve done their “homework” with regard to the history of the Congress Street restaurant which has, under prior ownership, included national accolades, as well as financial and health-related problems.

“We know what the expectation is and we intend to work hard to earn the business of local Seacoast guests,” Goodwin said. “I think the food is cool, the energy and the vibe are great, and we like it because it’s very well-known. But we also see it as an opportunity to grow and improve, and to take it to a higher level.”

Goodwin said he’s “excited to be part of Portsmouth’s cool restaurant scene” and that the new owners will “work hard to let diners know we appreciate them with a good dining experience.”

Prior to Monday’s sale to Goodwin and Pulver, Jasper was negotiating to sell the Portsmouth restaurant to Friendly Toast manager Chris Hartin and his wife, Amy. That deal failed and the couple filed a civil suit in Rockingham Superior Court that alleged they had an agreement to buy the restaurant in April 2012, but Jasper and her husband failed to honor it, while planning to sell to someone else.

According to the Hartins’ lawsuit, after they signed an agreement with Jasper, formed a corporation, hired legal counsel, negotiated a lease with the building landlord and obtained financing in anticipation of becoming owners. As the expected closing date neared, they alleged, they discovered “previously undisclosed liabilities,” including “significant liens” placed on the business by the Internal Revenue Service and the N.H. Department of Revenue.

In an affidavit, Jasper countered that large tax liens on the business prevented the sale from going though as planned and that the Hartins never requested another closing date. Jasper claimed she owed $205,000 in taxes and “was powerless to discharge that lien” without proceeds from the sale of one of her Friendly Toast restaurants. She said she thought she had a buyer for the Cambridge restaurant, but that deal fell through.

Further, Jasper’s affidavit stated, she owed her Portsmouth landlord $40,000 and the landlord wanted payment before he signed a lease with anyone new.

Last October, according to Jasper’s affidavit, she received “a very substantial offer” from someone interested only in buying both restaurants. And since she considered the deal with the Hartins “long gone,” Jasper wrote, she considered herself free to accept an offer from the unnamed buyer.

The Hartins claimed their purchase and sale agreement remained valid and they were “ready, willing and able” to buy the Portsmouth Friendly Toast as agreed. In spite of that, they claimed in their lawsuit, Jasper and her husband “refuse to honor their obligations.”

The Hartins alleged they suffered financial damages because the Jaspers breached their contract and violated the Consumer Protection Act.

Attorney Duncan MacCallum, who represented the Jaspers, said the case, which was scheduled for a December trial, was settled out of court. The settlement, he said, included a confidentiality agreement, so no one can disclose details.

“It was a good settlement,” MacCallum said, “because both sides walked away unhappy.”

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